


Angels and Demons

by fooooof234



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Demon!Nico, Drabble, M/M, angel!will
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-26
Updated: 2017-04-22
Packaged: 2018-08-17 09:08:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8138461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fooooof234/pseuds/fooooof234
Summary: Nico's a demon who condemns people with a single touch, and Will's an angel who's about to get on his nerves





	1. First Contact

**Author's Note:**

> Tumblr prompt: “Can you give me a ficlet where Nico is a demon who kills by touching and Will is an angel of healing? Please and thank you!”

Nico walked down the slummy streets of New York City, shoulders hunched under his dark trench coat, leather gloved-hands sitting in his pocket, shiny shoes slapping into puddles left by the rain. He heard the siren of a cop car, then saw it’s flashing lights as it sped past him. He guessed they were driving to the Chinese restaurant he had just vacated, to the body of the man he had left on its steps. Nico kept walking.

He wandered the streets for hours, keeping his eyes open for potential victims. He saw a drug deal take place in the shadows of an alleyway, saw a trio of hookers prance at a street corner and crick their fingers at passing men, but saw no activity that warranted the touch of a demon.

So he continued wandering, until he saw it; the mugging of a young woman. He hid himself in the obscurity of a nearby building, watching the scene unfold. A middle-aged man was holding the young woman at knife point, demanding the contents of her worn purse. The woman, wearing a stained work uniform, relinquished her money with tears in her eyes, then started to scurry away as fast as her tired legs would allow. The man pocketed his knife, then, with a greasy smile on his face, began counting how much money he had collected.

Nico started to approach him, taking off one leather glove in preparation, but halted when he saw someone else reach him first. 

This stranger was a complete contrast to Nico; blonde hair as opposed to dark, airy and white clothes instead of black, hanging fabric, and an ethereal glow rather than a gloomy darkness.

This man was an angel, while Nico was a demon.

The angel advanced to the mugger, grasped his shoulder warmly, and whispered something into his ear. Immediately, the man took off after the woman he had just robbed, apologizing and returning what he stole.

Nico was furious. That man was supposed to be his, was meant to spend his eternity burning in hell. His destiny wasn’t to be saved; he didn’t deserve to have his soul healed.

“Hey,” he called to the angel before he could walk away, “that man was mine.”

The blonde looked him squarely in the face, and said in a challenging voice, “Then you should’ve reached him first.”

He turned around, but before he could retreat, Nico asked, “What’s your name?”

“Will,” he responded, and then he was gone in a flash of light.

_ Will _ , Nico thought, as the sun started to make it’s appearance on the horizon.  _ I have a feeling I’ll be seeing him again.  _ And with that, he melted back into the shadows.


	2. At the Diner

Nico raised the coffee cup to his lips, sipping the contents that were almost as musty as the diner itself. He was one of two occupants of the run-down edifice, the other being an overweight truck driver that was gorging himself on a plate of breakfast at the counter. From his spot in the corner booth, Nico watched as the sole waitress filled up the man’s travel mug. She made her way over to Nico, refilled his cup with the vile liquid they were passing off as coffee, and went back to her spot behind the counter where she resumed her crossword.

4:30am was a good time for the city.

The truck driver finished his breakfast, deposited his grimy cash onto the counter, and took a sip from his travel mug as he made his way to the door. He exited into the dawn, just as another man entered.

Nico sat up straighter in his seat, having no doubt as to the identity of the newcomer; it was the angel, Will. The demon’s hands, which had just been resting on the table, tightened into fists, eliciting small creaks from the leather gloves that encased them.

And the whole time Nico had been staring at Will, Will had been starting right back, frozen at the threshold of the building.

The waitress seemed to have sense the shift in mood brought about by the stranger, and slowly slinked into the kitchen, leaving the two men to be alone.

Will made his way over to Nico’s corner booth, seating himself down across from him. Even in the dingy lighting of the dinner, the angel glowed.

Nico stared at him some more, then broke the silence. “Can I help you?”

That made Will smile, no doubt amused by Nico’s snarky attitude. “I saw you in here, and figured I’d stop in.”

“Why?”

“You intrigue me,” Will answered simply, leaning back comfortably against the booth.

Nico remained rigid. “What, never seen a demon before?” he inquired.

A little, quick shake of the head. “No, actually. You’re the first I’ve met.”

“Really?” Nico responded, finding that hard to believe; there were just as many demons as there we angels, meaning they were practically everywhere.

Will started to trace a ring on the table that was left by an old coffee cup, focusing his eyes towards the spot. “I guess you could say I’m new.” He looked back into the demon’s eyes. “That man you saw me heal? He was my first.”

Watching Will’s finger trace the spot on the table, Nico processed that information before saying, “You’re awfully cocky for a new guy.”

Will chuckled at that, a light and pleasant sound. Nico frowned at him, pretending to dislike it. His hand reached for his drink, even though it had long since gone cold, and he took a sip as Will collected himself.

“I didn’t want you to know. I was scared of you, to be honest.” Will answered with a sheepish grin.

One of Nico’s eyebrows went up. “ _ Was _ ?”

The angel shrugged, a graceful movement, and replied, “You don’t seem so bad.”

_ How naive _ , thought Nico. He looked straight into Will’s eyes, his blue and innocent eyes, and glared at him with all his evil, showing him his true nature, giving him a glimpse of the darkness he contained.

Will stared back for a second, wide-eyed, then laughed.  _ Laughed _ . As if this was a humorous situation. He had thrown back his head, exposing his pale neck, and was laughing as if he had never heard anything more amusing.

Filled with fury at his reaction, Nico’s hands curled back into fists. “You think this is funny?”

Will’s laughter subsided into chuckles, then stopped altogether as he brought his head back down. He was still smiling as he answered, “You’re not as frightening as you think you are.”

“No?” said Nico challengingly; he wasn’t going to just let this go. Standing up, he made the angel an offer. “Why don’t we go see just how non-frightening I really am.”


	3. The Loss of Innocence

It was now 5:00 am. The city was starting to stir, evidence of life making its appearance in the form of early morning taxi cabs and the few brave runners out before their day truly began. And, of course, in the form of an angel and a demon standing in front of a great office building.

The paradoxical duo made their way into the building, the darker of the two leading while the other followed. No one besides them occupied the lobby of the building, leaving them uninterrupted as they went to the elevators.

Nico pressed a single glove-covered finger against the “up” button, then stuffed his hand back in his pocket as he waited for the elevator. His angel companion had fallen silent, seeming to realize the heaviness of what was about to happen.

A  _ ding _ indicated the arrival of their transportation, and the two stepped on. Nico pressed the button for the top floor, then turned to Will.

“If you really want to see what I can do,” he started, breaking the quiet, “you have to promise you won’t interfere.”

Will stared back at him for a second, hesitated, then nodded his confirmation.

Part of Nico felt guilty to what he was about to do; Will was a novice angel, he probably thought only good things about the world, and Nico was about to ruin that. On the other hand, there was no way Will could preserve his innocence forever. Nico might as well get it over with for him.

Another  _ ding _ . Nico stepped out onto the beige carpet and began walking down the long corridor with Will trading closely behind him. Reaching the last office, the demon opened the door and stepped inside.

Behind the behemoth mahogany desk was an overweight, middle-aged white man. He had pudgy fingers, beady eyes, and balding hair. His eyes were focused on the computer, but looked up when the two strangers walked in.

“You aren’t supposed to be in here,” he said in a way that indicated he found the matter to be closed, going back to his computer screen.

Nico just smirked and walked until he reached the front of the desk. “And you aren’t supposed to be embezzling.”

The man hesitated for a second, then furrowed his brow angrily. “I don’t know who you think you are, coming in here and making false accusations-”

“We both know it’s not false,” Nico interrupted. “And we also know that you’ve done worse.”

“I don- listen here I- I’ll call security!”

Nico simply smiled as he removed the glove from his right hand. Reaching across the desk, he grasped the man’s hand before he could retract it.

No matter how many times the demon had done this, he still found it to be a jarring act. He had to hold on tightly with his hand so as not to lose his grip, as the man started shaking and convulsing violently. His skin was turning red, his eyes were rolling into the back of his head, and he was screaming -- screams so loud and offensive to the ears, screams that made one’s insides shrivel upon themselves.

But Nico was calm. He had seen worse reactions for this, for the truly terrible ones were saved for the murderers and rapists. The only thing that was bothering Nico was that he knew Will was right behind him, witnessing this horror for the first time.

With a final scream, the man slumped back into his leather chair, now dead. Nico removed his hand, replaced his glove upon it, and turned around.

Will was still in the doorway of the office; he had never moved closer. His eyes were wide and his mouth was slightly agape. He seemed to have lost some of his glow.

For some reason, his reaction caused an ache in Nico’s chest. He ignored it, and said to Will, “Now you know.”

Will didn’t move, save for his eyes, which flickered back and forth between Nico and the dead man’s body. His lips parted more, as if he were to say something, but nothing came out. Instead, he vanished, leaving Nico alone.

_ Guess that’s goodbye _ , he thought bitterly. He tugged his gloves on more securely, then left the office.


	4. Reflection in the Park

The park was one of the locations of the city that Nico seldom frequented; there simply wasn’t enough malicious activity to warrant the presence of a demon. However, sometimes a deviation from the norm was necessary.

Nico sat on wooden park bench, just observing today. And thinking. 

It had been some time since Will had vanished, and he had come to accept the fact that he would never see that angel again. Which was fine, he told himself. It’s not like they could have been friends or anything; Nico was a demon, Will was an angel, it was as simple as that. As for his guilt about forcing Will to see what he did, well, he could hardly let him be ignorant, now could he? One could even say that Nico had a duty to educate him about the way things truly were.

He sighed.  _ Who am I trying to convince _ ? He might as well be honest with himself; his meeting with Will may not have been his first encounter with an angel, but the absence of Will was the first time it hurt. Nico hadn’t missed someone in quite a long time, and the sensation was odd. And terribly unpleasant.

_ It doesn’t matter _ , he thought.  _ I’ll get over it soon enough _ .

Just after that thought, Nico sensed someone sit down next to him on the bench. Already in a bad mood, he turned his head to look at them and give them his best evil stare (which was quite good), but became frozen instead.

It was Will. Of course it was Will, of  _ course _ he would show up just as he was thinking about him. Nico was glad that he had had many years to practice keeping emotion off of his face, for he would have hated for the angel to be able to guess how he felt. And how did he feel? Surprised mix with a sense of relief. Again, an odd sensation.

Will was looking at him with his wholesome eyes, the light breeze ever so gently tousling his hair. For the first time, Nico admitted to himself that Will was beautiful.

“I’m sorry I’ve been avoiding you,” said Will, interrupting Nico’s internal thoughts.

_ Avoiding. Right, Nico, he was avoiding you. Because he’s an angel and you’re a demon, and nothing will ever come of this relationship _ .

Nico turned his head away from Will, facing the park instead. “No need to apologize, I expected it.”

“No, you didn’t.”

Nico glanced back at Will. “Pardon?”

Will was looking both apologetic and defiant, replying, “You trusted me, I know you did. That’s why you showed me what you do, not to try and scare me, but because you trusted me. And I betrayed that when I didn’t come back, and I’m sorry.”

Nico didn’t know how to respond to that, so he didn’t, which prompted Will to continue.

“You were right, I was naive. It was hard to see what you did, and I had to take some time to myself.” He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. He then adopted an optimistic look, saying, “And I thought of something I could show you.”

“Really,” Nico scoffed. His outward display of disinterest was purely for show; he didn’t want Will to think it was that easy to win him over again. Even though it was.

A small version of that trademark small. Will nodded and stated confidently, “I think you should watch me heal someone.”

“I’ve already seen you do that, Will,” said Nico curtly.

“Not up close,” Will answered. “It’s a whole different experience. Trust me.” They both understood the irony of that statement. “Please?”

Nico thought about it quickly, then decided he had no reason to refuse. And, since he recently decided to be honest with himself, he knew that he would regret it if he passed an opportunity to spend time with Will.

“Alright,” he said quietly, causing Will’s smile to grow to it’s full extent. He then stood up and offered his hand to Nico.

“Let’s go, then.”


	5. A Healing

Nico grasped Will’s hand as he stood up, then quickly let go of it – he wanted to hold on, wanted that contact between them even with the leather of Nico’s gloves between them, but he didn’t want to deal with the consequences such a small and simple action would mean. 

Will didn’t seem to notice Nico’s internal dilemma, and continued walking while looking forward. Nico fell in step beside him; neither felt the need to break the silence that had fallen between them as they meandered through the park.

Nico watched Will as Will watched the other patrons of the park, his eyes scanning for any sign of a tortured soul. A pair of joggers, a woman walking her dog, a group of teenagers skateboarding – they passed all of them by, letting them continue in their lives without angelic interference. Nico was just beginning to wonder what it took to gain Will’s attention when the angel stopped, staring off to their left.

Following his line of sight, Nico saw two little girls playing in the grass. The bigger of the two was clearly antagonizing the other, throwing leaves in her hair and sneering at her whenever she was given the chance; the younger girl appeared to getting more and more upset, a wobble beginning to develop in her lower lip.  
Will’s hand gestured out from his side slightly, an indication for Nico to give him some space as he approached the two children. Kneeling down beside them, he smiled kindly at both and asked, “Are you two playing nicely?”

The smaller girl shook her head while the other girl glared at her, prompting Will to turn fully to her. Nico watched from only a few feet away as the angel gently brushed so hair out of her face.

“Why don’t you apologize to your friend?”

And that was that – no rays of light shining through the could, no mystical wind ruffling the scene. It simply was just pure and unadulterated love, not something visible, but tangible in it’s own way. Being in close proximity, Nico felt almost as affected as the little girl had been.

Almost.

After a moment, the girl smiled, gave a small nod, and turned to her companion with an apology.

Will stood up, his own smile taking an endearing turn, and retreated back to where Nico had been waiting.

“It really is something, isn’t it?” Will mused softly, more so to himself than to Nico, who only gave a slight jerk of his head in response; he couldn’t think of something to say that would be appropriate.

“I like helping children, best,” commented Will thoughtfully. “Saving souls is always a good feeling, but it’s even better when you know you’re saving the majority of one’s life as well.”

That statement made Nico freeze, clenching his fists and his jaw; he knew better than anyone just how important it was to save a child when they were in a time of need.

Because no one saved him when he needed it.

**Author's Note:**

> my tumblr is solangelo-stuffs if y'all are interested


End file.
